Types of Doors for Your Home
Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Your next beautiful interior design decision, that’s who!
The doors in your home separate spaces from room to room, part the exterior from the interior, protect you from outside sounds and add beauty and style.
That is, they do that if you choose the right door.
Do you want a solid wood door? Maybe one with glass panels? French? Dutch? Pocket? Barn?
The choices are endless, especially when you throw trim options into the mix. How on earth do you choose?!
You could break door types down by materials, the number of panels, or even how they open. Instead of bogging you down with endless taxonomy, instead consider this your “101” opportunity to learn about the trends in doors and a few timeless recommendations from yours, truly.
Trends in doors
The standard 6-panel colonial door is pretty much what you find in homes today. That’s just what builders have been putting in…and they’ve been favoring this door for decades.
As time has gone on, however, we’ve slowly gotten away from that.
Today, we’re seeing more transitional or even streamlined designs. This gives a cleaner look—almost a contemporary style in some cases.
That might mean doors with two boxes (like a Shaker door) or even slab doors in contemporary homes…I’ve LOVED some of the stained Shaker doors I’ve seen, by the way!
Another dated trend that’s going away now is excessive molding…I love trim, don’t get me wrong. But we use to see heavy molding applied to almost every interior door, and now we don’t see it as much. Some doors today even come with their own subtler detail built in.
For the traditional paneled look but with a sleeker feel, I’ve also seen flat-paneled doors with an added panel look.
Frosted glass is another trend, too.
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In terms of door hardware, there are some trends to be aware of there, too! I used to see those “winking” handles (imagine an “s” flipped on its side) pretty much everywhere…but now, those look dated. Instead, I’m seeing these clean, straight handles…and I like them, I have to say!
A few design basics
Ok…I KNOW I said I wouldn’t get into endless taxonomy of different kinds of doors…but it is important to cover a few basics.
Wherever you go online, you’ll find a different list of door types explained in different ways. Sometimes, they’re broken down by the number of panels. Other times, they’re broken down by how they open.
Here’s one breakdown of five types of doors I’d like to share with you…you’ll see why in a moment.
- Panel doors
- Glass doors
- Dutch doors
- Flush doors
- Louver doors
Now…each of those door types has plenty of sub-types, too. Just look at the gallery below…ALL these photos are examples of the five types listed above. That’s it!
Inspiration overload, anyone?!
If you can dream it, you can come up with it in a door. Interior design, after all, is about bringing even the smallest details together to maximize the look and feel of your space while matching the desired aesthetic.
Choosing the right door is just as important as selecting your furniture and window treatments for that reason.
For a little free advice, I’ll say I’m a BIG fan of solid wood. Some door styles only come in solid wood, but many others (including the MOST common paneled doors) come with hollow wood as an option.
These doors are NOT optimal for sound insulation, however. If you’re working to perfect your home office, a hollow door is a bad idea. Period. The panels on hollow wood doors are also WAY too easy to kick out…don’t ask me how I know that!
Everything you need to know about solid wood doors
Solid wood is the best option to keep sound out and to maintain desired temperatures room-to-room.
Certain styles, too, almost require solid wood. For example, imagine a pocket door…anything less than a heavy, solid wood slab will flutter when you pull it open and shut.
That doesn’t sound terribly luxurious!
I will add that solid wood doors do require some maintenance. Staining them can add a beautiful look, but painting them will require lots of touch-ups later (especially around the handle).
But hey, if that’s the design touch that gives people a “WOW” first impression, it’s worth the upkeep!!
A few doors from our projects…
Take a look at a few projects where we did some work on the doors…
In this remodel, we painted the doors to make them an “architectural element of interest.”
In this project, we replaced the door.
And in this one (a favorite of mine), we added custom mahogany doors to match the mahogany cabinets in the bathroom…
And how about this custom barn door?!
Personally, if I were to redo my doors right now, I might go for a fluted molding with a heavy trim on top…my front door might have glass panes, but I am NOT a fan of many panes…just a simple, one or two-pane design would do the trick.
It’s also pretty cool to see new door designs with metal detail between the wood, migrating away from that flat panel look…
What do you think? Tell me on social!
Choosing the doors for your home might still feel a bit daunting with so many options to choose from…but don’t worry—that happens to the best of us! You can call or book time with me for help, just check out our online consultations for interior design. (You can book an in-person one instead, if you’d like!)
I look forward to hearing from you!!
